‘Lived life fast’: Biker killed by drunk driver honored at Blip Roasters coffee shop
Without fail, Matthew Rogers would ride up to his favorite coffee shop, Blip Roasters — a Kansas City local coffee shop designed for bikers — on his red Harley Davidson Evo Sportser motorcycle and order a large latte with a bit of vanilla.
However, on June 16, Rogers was killed by a drunk driver while riding his motorcycle.
Now, his go-to coffee spot has set up a GoFundMe on behalf of his family to honor Rogers and help his family. It has raised more than $5,500, nearing its $6,000 goal.
Staff of Blip Roasters found out about Rogers death June 17, the morning after the crash.
“Honestly, It’s a gut punch every time we hear that someone on a bike has been hurt,” Danna Suellentrop, owner of biker coffee shop Blip Roasters, wrote.
His family and friends already know what it’s like to see Rogers hurt. He suffered from multiple injuries after a bus hit him while on his motorcycle in 2020.
This time however, Rogers succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital.
James “Jimmy” Shay, 36, was Rogers best friend, but really his brother. Rogers lived with Shay’s family for years. They had met at a party where they were the only two who’d gone shirtless. They bonded over a Budweiser.
When Rogers first got hurt on his motorcycle, Shay had told him he needed to be careful. He didn’t want to bury a brother, he said.
“It’s been very, very difficult,” he said after Rogers’ death. “We had someone who was so kind, so loving, and it didn’t matter what type of Earth you came from — he would be there if you needed him too. That’s just the kind of guy he was.”
‘A gaping hole in all of our lives’
Rogers lived life fast, Peyton Diffendaffer, his ex-wife and mother to his son, Asher, said. She met Rogers when he was in a band called “Last Nights Alone.” They’d been married for six years before they split up.
“He was endlessly frustrating in the most lovable way,” she said. “We all thought he was indestructible.”
The 33-year-old Oklahoma City resident recalled a memory with Rogers that happened when she was just three months pregnant with her now 15-year-old son.
It was the Fourth of July — Rogers favorite holiday because it involved blowing stuff up, Diffendafer joked. The two of them had just bought a bunch of fireworks, and Rogers then sawed off all the fireworks so they would explode at ground level over the pond.
It was both the most beautiful and most terrifying thing Diffendaffer had ever witnessed.
The two stayed connected after Rogers moved back to Kansas City — and she kept up with some of his exploits. She said he had even traveled all the way to Tampa, Florida and back up to Kansas City on a single speed bicycle.
“There is a gaping hole in all of our lives that can’t be filled,” she said. “And I probably can’t say this, but we’re gonna miss that lanky bastard.”
This story was originally published June 27, 2023 at 2:12 PM.
